Re-exam on the review of “ D No Body
Installed”
Credits
Concept,
: Dario Tortorelli
choreography
and installation
Performer : Adi Amit
Music : Röyksopp – Monument
David Bowie - David Bowie - Love Is Lost (Hello Steve Reich Mix by James Murphy
Light design : Remko Van Wely
Co production : Conny Janssen Danst, WArd/waRD - Ann Van den Broek/
During the dance festival Dutch Dance Days in Maastricht, I saw the performance “ D No Body installed” by an Italian choreographer Dario Tortorelli. Dario is known for creating the fictional figure, called Romeo Heart. Also for this particular performance, Dario got himself inspired by his own invented character.
The
performance took off pretty vehement. It got started with loud music of the
artists Röyksopp and
Robyn and short flashlights. From the slow revolvingly raised plateau,
which was set in the middle, the performer went into rest of the space in slow
motion.
Romeo Heart is a figure, based on famous pop artists who’re
playing with gender and identity. In this way, Adi Amit showed us how she had
to behave as the fictional alter ego character and how she actually really had
to become the Romeo Heart figure to be able to dance the piece. Hereby I’ve to
think about Lady Gaga and David Bowie etcetera. The movements that were
performed, were in this way very recognizable for the pop culture. In
combination with the pop music which they
used, the movement language became easily recognizable for the audience.
The
performance contained several contrasts. Examples are the beginning where
moving in slow motion was combined with loud music and a lot of light changes,
which enhanced the contrast. Another was how rest got defeated by a
still-present rhythm. Contrasts were relative frequently present, but in my
opinion they were each time appropriate.
.
.Throughout the
entire performance, the performer went through multiple metamorphoses. When the
performer was turning in the middle, in the beginning of the piece, she was
wearing a wide black jacket and a helmet. Gradually there appeared short white
hairs from under the helmet, while the legs seemed pretty feminine to me. It
goes a lot further, but in this way, Dario draws this unclearness about the
gender of the performer throughout the entire piece. The slow transformations
sometimes left me confused, but at the same time they also pulled mine attention.
Although the contrasts were
remarkable, the transitions were noteworthy as well. Often accompanied by the
music, the performer's movements became a good match, especially seen on the
aspect of timing. In addition, I got amazed by how the
performer could impressed me, while she was dancing with her back to the
audience. She was dancing so expressive that there was not even a need to show
her face in that moment.
Another
strongly present element was the sunglasses that lay on the floor during the
performance. It felt like Dario - by
putting the sunglasses down in a specific way, which made it almost look like
some kind of installation – wanted to show the spectator the whole performance
from multiple perspectives. I perceived the sunglasses also as spectators,
while I was also in the audience myself.
In
addition, I can only be positive about the piece and conclude that it was a
very strong performance in which the gender, transformation and pop culture
that Dario worked with emerged in both theatrical aspects such as costume as
well as dance and music.
This
performance was performed on the 8th of October
2016 in the Theater Kumulus.
